2nd Comic Con creates conflict in Twin Cities

MINNEAPOLIS -- Wizard World is coming to the Minneapolis Convention Center this weekend, and and when it sweeps into town, a little controversy is coming along with it.

The event is a national Comic Con that draws superstars from television and movies both past and current. The problem is the Twin Cities already has a "Comic Con," one that has been around for a quarter century.

"We don't have William Shatner at $199 an autograph, we don't have the stars and that kind of thing, we have comic book creators, writers and artists," says Nick Postiglione, with the Midwest Comic Book Association.

MCBA has been putting on Spring Con going on 26 years. The all-volunteer, nonprofit organization didn't mind the national big-boy Wizard World coming to town, at least not at first.

"Then we found out that they decided to schedule their event two weeks apart from ours, which they have a long track record of doing around the United States," says Postiglione.

The folks with Wizard World tell us popularity has grown their tour from eight cities last year to 16 cities this year. They said their intention is not to harm another organization. They believe that success for everyone means success for the genre. They did offer Spring Con an opportunity to come to Wizard World and promote their upcoming show.

"It was a perfectly fine offer and we offered them the same thing," says Postiglione, though they chose not to accept.

Spring Con organizers say they'd be more upset about the situation, but it's actually been somewhat beneficial.

"Our activity on our website is way up and I think controversy draws attention," Postiglione says.